FaultScore

Worst years for a Ford Five Hundred

Owners have filed 1,527 complaints about the Ford Five Hundred with NHTSA across model years 2004 to 2007. More of them are about the transmission & drivetrain than anything else.

Avoid

2005 Ford Five Hundred

716 complaints — the highest FaultScore of any year, mostly transmission & drivetrain.

Cleanest on record

2007 Ford Five Hundred

287 complaints — the lowest FaultScore of the graded years.

Every Ford Five Hundred year, graded

The grade compares each year against the rest of this model's own run — never against another car. Click any bar or row to open that year's report.

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded
Year Grade Complaints Crashes Fires Median miles Most reported
2007 C 287 29 5 62,600 Acceleration & Cruise Control
2006 C 523 31 9 71,229 Acceleration & Cruise Control
2005 C 716 27 8 75,000 Transmission & Drivetrain
2004 1 0 0 Brakes

What breaks on a Ford Five Hundred

Across every model year on file. Follow a row for that part's complaints and the year it was worst.

Worst in 2005

Worst in 2006

Engine & Cooling 208 13.6%

Worst in 2005

Electrical System 168 11.0%

Worst in 2005

Worst in 2005

Brakes 99 6.5%

Worst in 2005

Worst in 2005

Worst in 2005

Lights 32 2.1%

Worst in 2005

Airbags 30 2.0%

Worst in 2005

Worst in 2006

Suspension 24 1.6%

Worst in 2005

Doors, Latches & Locks 24 1.6%

Worst in 2005

Steering 22 1.4%

Worst in 2005

Exactly what failed on a Ford Five Hundred

The named sub-assemblies behind those complaints, across every model year.

Automatic Transmission 107 42.3%
Body 30 11.9%
Instrument Cluster/Panel 22 8.7%
Engine 19 7.5%
Rotor 17 6.7%
Pads 14 5.5%
Cooling System 13 5.1%
Latch 13 5.1%
AIR Conditioner 11 4.3%
Frontal 7 2.8%

Complaints filed over time

Every complaint about every Ford Five Hundred, by the month it reached NHTSA.

Dec 2004 peak 66 Aug 2025

Ford Five Hundred problems by state

Where owners filed from. Heavier states are usually just bigger markets, but a part that fails in heat or salt shows up here first.

Compare the Ford Five Hundred

Side by side on complaint history. Remember that raw totals track how many were sold as much as how good they were.